US Open Tennis 2011: Odds for Remaining Men in Field

The quarterfinals at the 2011 US Open Men's Draw are almost complete. We still have four matches from the fourth round to be played.

So far the top five players in the draw are still alive, and 10 of the 12 players remaining are seeded players.

There are also four Grand Slam champions. They have won 30 Grand Slam tournaments between them.

In contrast to the Women's Draw, there is a lot of experience among the players remaining. The average age of the remaining players is 26 years old. The oldest is 30 and the youngest 22.

All the matches will be packed and full of support for their favorite players, as there are many fan favorites waiting to dazzle us with their performances.

Twelve players, where we will see shot makers and grinders, big servers and returners that will be amazing us during the rest of the tournament.

No matter the combination of the players from the fourth round that make it to the quarterfinals and further on, it will be one of the best US Open's in recent memory.

Let's take a look at the odds for the remaining players in the Men's Draw.

Janko Tipsarevic

Seeding: 20

Country: Serbia

QF Opponent: Novak Djokovic (1)

Head-to-Head Record: 0-2

Odds: 50/1

Janko Tipsarevic has played very well so far in the US Open. He come from defeating Juan Carlos Ferrero in the fourth round.

Some suggest that Ferrero's body, hit by recent injuries, and physical exhaustion after playing two five-set matches in early rounds prevented Ferrero from being combative to the end.

I just say Tipsarevic played a great match that was very even all throughout and he was the better of the two.

He must now face friend and fellow Serbian Novak Djokovic. While familiarity will certainly play a role in this match, the world No. 1 is clearly above Tipsarevic.

Tipsarevic has faced Nole twice and lost in three sets both times. The matches took place in 2008 and 2009.

Djokovic was very good then; he is great now. Tipsarevic has a very steep hill to climb if he is to win here.

Gilles Muller

Seeding: Unseeded

Country: Luxembourg

4th Round Opponent: Rafael Nadal (2)

QF Opponent: Winner of David Ferrer (5) and Andy Roddick (21)

Head-to-Head Record: 1-3

Odds: 35/1

Gilles Muller is a very talented player who is ranked No. 68 in the world.

He defeated a very good and hot player in Ernests Gulbis on the second round here and has a legitimate chance at upsetting Rafael Nadal in the fourth round.

While he came into the US Open exiting in the first rounds of the Legg Mason and Winston Salem, he had been playing very well prior to that.

He is 1-3 against Nadal. Their last meeting was in the third round of this year's Wimbledon. Rafa won 7-6, 7-6, 6-0.

Muller must be on top of his game to beat Nadal, but questions have been surrounding the defending champ about his health.

If he were to move on to the quarterfinals, his record against David Ferrer is 0-1. They played in the first round of the 2004 Australian Open.

And he is 1-2 against Andy Roddick. But they haven't played each other since Andy beat him 6-4, 7-6, at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in 2008.

Donald Young

Seeding: Unseeded

Country: USA

4th Round Opponent: Andy Murray

QF Opponent: Winner of Gilles Simon (12) and John Isner (28)

Head-to-Head Record: 0-1

Odds: 25/1

The young American hope, Donald Young, is playing his best tennis at the right moment.

And he better keep it up if he is to make it to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.

His previous best showing at a Slam was last year's Australian Open where he reached the second round.

He beat Stanislas Wawrinka in an epic five-set match on the second round here. He bounced back from that and beat dangerous Juan Ignacio Chela in four sets in the third round.

He is facing fourth-seed Andy Murray for the spot in the quarterfinals.

He is 1-0 against Andy. Their only match came earlier this year at Indian Wells, where Young won 7-6, 6-3.

Young is riding high in confidence, and Murray will come with guns blazing, so he should be ready for the challenge.

If he were to move on to the quarterfinals, his record against his possible opponents is 0-3 against Gilles Simon and 0-2 against John Isner.

His last match against Simon was the first round here at the US Open last year.

His two losses against Isner, while in straight sets, have been very close matches.

Gilles Simon

Seeding: 12

Country: France

4th Round Opponent: John Isner (28)

QF Opponent: Winner of Andy Murray (4) and Donald Young

Head-to-Head Record: 0-0

Odds: 25/1

Frenchman Gilles Simon comes from defeating Juan Martin Del Potro in four sets. Del Potro was considered by many as a potential sleeper in the draw.

Simon, while he did not blow Del Potro off the court, demonstrated a lot of resiliency after losing the first set.

In a match where there were many unforced errors, Simon won the second and fourth sets in tie-breakers which lasted 75 and 82 minutes.

He must cut those errors if he is to beat hard-serving "Big" John Isner.

Simon is not going to get many looks at Isner's serve, so it will be critical that he defends his. It will be a very interesting match to see how Simon approaches it.

If Simon were to get past Isner, his record against Andy Murray is 1-7 and 3-0 against Donald Young.

Simon has lost three times this year to Murray.

David Ferrer

Seeding: 5

Country: Spain

4th Round Opponent: Andy Roddick (21)

QF Opponent: Winner of Rafael Nadal (2) and Gilles Muller

Head-to-Head Record: 5-2

Odds: 22/1

David Ferrer was coming to the US Open off an injury—a broken finger.

He had very little experience on the hard courts this year. And many—including myself—thought that his lack of preparation for this court could see him leaving in the earlier rounds.

He has proven us wrong.

Ferrer has defeated three dangerous opponents in Igor Andreev, James Blake and Florian Mayer. Blake was 2-0 against him lifetime.

He definitely has played up to his fifth-seed status.

Now he faces Andy Roddick. Last time we saw them play was at this year's Davis Cup, where Ferrer beat him in straight sets.

Ferrer seems to play Andy well and looks like he is recovered fully from his broken finger.

If he were to move on to the quarterfinals, his record against Rafael Nadal is 4-13 and against Gilles Muller is 1-0.

Ferrer defeated Nadal in straight sets at the quarterfinals of the Australian Open this year. He then lost twice in clay.

He better remember that last win over Nadal on the hard courts if he were to face him in the quarters of a Slam again.

John Isner

Seeding: 28

Country: USA

4th Round Opponent: Gilles Simon (12)

QF Opponent: Winner of Andy Murray (4) and Donald Young

Head-to-Head Record: 0-0

Odds: 20/1

Big John Isner is playing the best tennis of his life.

His intimidating big serve has been on display in every match he has played thus far at the US Open.

He has been in pressure situations and has overcome all of them. His matches have been very close and promise to be even closer as he moves on.

His first-round fourth set match against Marcos Baghdatis was full of energy, especially the second set 13-11 tie-breaker.

On his third round against Alex Bogomolov, Jr. he played another superb tie-breaker in the first set, 11-9 and two more sets of high intensity.

Isner is riding high after his Winston Salem title, and the fans are following him.

He has never played against Gilles Simon before. This could very well be the most interesting of the remaining fourth-round matches.

If he were to advance to the quarterfinals, his record against Andy Murray is 0-2, while against Donald Young is 2-0.

With Murray, his history is recent. He lost in straight sets at the Hopman Cup this year and the Australian Open last year.

Andy Roddick

Seeding: 21

Country: USA

4th Round Opponent: David Ferrer (5)

QF Opponent: Winner of Rafael Nadal (2) and Gilles Muller

Head-to-Head Record: 3-5

Odds: 15/1

Andy Roddick is focused on silencing critics.

He has made his way to the fourth round and comes from beating Winston Salem finalist Julien Benneteau in straight sets.

His critics would say that he has yet to face tough competition, but he has been steadily improving his game and defeating them as it should be.

His road has started to get tough, as he faces fifth-seed Spaniard David Ferrer in the fourth round.

Ferrer seems to play his best against Andy and is healthy and playing very well.

It will be an exclamation point for Andy over his critics if he were to beat Ferrer in the fourth round.

It would also be a very much-needed boost of confidence for him, as he could possibly face Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals.

If he were to win the US Open, those two victories would get him ready for it.

If he goes on to the quarterfinals, his record against Rafael Nadal is 3-6 and against Gilles Muller 2-1.

His wins over Rafa have all been on hard courts, so this is the right place to post a challenge to him.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Seeding: 11

Country: France

QF Opponent: Roger Federer (3)

Head-to-Head Record: 3-4

Odds: 12/1

High-flyer Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has made it to the quarterfinals.

He comes from defeating America's highest-seeded player, Mardy Fish, in five sets in the fourth round.

In the previous rounds he beat two very dangerous players in Fernando Verdasco in the third and Yen-Hsun Lu in the first.

He will now face Roger Federer, a man he has beaten twice in a row in pressure situations. He has defeated Federer at Wimbledon and in Montreal.

Prior to those wins, the only other time Tsonga beat Federer was at Montreal two years ago when he downed Federer in a third set tie-break.

He seems to play Federer well this half of the year. His losses against Federer have been on the first half of the year they've played.

Tsonga is a big hitter and a crowd favorite. He will definitely have the crowd behind him when he faces Federer. And he will feed off them.

Federer seems to be playing at a very high level as well, so this has all the makings of an epic five-set match.

Andy Murray

Seeding: 4

Country: UK

4th Round Opponent: Donald Young

QF Opponent: Winner of Gilles Simon (12) and John Isner (28)

Head-to-Head Record: 0-1

Odds: 6/1

Many expect Andy Murray to make it to finals. But his road to it will be very tough.

He comes from defeating fairly easily the feisty Feliciano Lopez in three sets.

But in the second round he had to dig deep from being two sets down to Dutchman Robin Haase and win in five sets.

He now has to face up and coming, red-hot American Donald Young. He is playing his best tennis to date.

Young defeated Murray in their only match before.

Murray must be at his best if he is to withstand the challenge from the young American and fulfill the prediction of many that this could be his first Grand Slam.

If he were to make it to the quarterfinals, his record against Gilles Simon is 7-1 and against John Isner 2-0.

He seems to have his hands full the rest of the way. If he does go on to win it, it will definitely be a very special win for him.

Roger Federer

Seeding: 3

Country: Switzerland

QF Opponent: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Head-to-Head Record: 4-3

Odds: 4/1

The King of Grand Slams, Roger Federer is about to advance to another major's quarterfinal round.

This is his record 30th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal. And he must face his toughest opponent yet, Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

His only obstacle so far was against Marin Cilic in the third round, against whom he dropped a set. Other than that, he has been playing like in his best days.

He comes from thrashing Juan Monaco in the third round. Monaco had played him to a tight match in Miami earlier in the year.

Federer was shooting winners from both sides and every spot on the court. He even aced-out a game. It was not as if Monaco was not trying, it was Federer not allowing him to play.

Federer has to be at his best in order to beat Tsonga.

Tsonga always plays his game no matter what the circumstances, so Federer must come ready to grind it out for five sets if necessary.

It's a tall order and not an easy task. But if Federer were to beat Tsonga in straight sets, then he would seem primed to add to his Slams record.

Rafael Nadal

Seeding: 2

Country: Spain

4th Round Opponent: Gilles Muller

QF Opponent: Winner of David Ferrer (5) and Andy Roddick (21)

Head-to-Head Record: 3-1

Odds: 4/1

The defending champion and world's No. 2, Rafael Nadal is one win away from the quarterfinals.

He has yet to drop a set and seems to be improving as each round passes by.

He is faced by questions—mainly by the press and the fans—as if he is healthy enough to aim at a repeat this year.

Nadal has downplayed his cramping during his press conference, and I am also one to think it is not a major issue.

You can bet your bottom dollar, he will have plenty of hydration before every match here at the US Open.

Nadal is after redemption here at the US Open, and he should not be taken lightly. He is just one year removed from the best year of his career.

He is not going away anytime soon.

He faces a tough opponent in Gilles Muller, and it will be tougher as he moves on. But he is ready for the challenge as usual.

If he were to move on to the quarterfinals, his record against fellow Spaniard David Ferrer is 14-4 and against Andy Roddick is 6-3.

He lost to Ferrer in the quarters of the Australian Open this year. And all of Andy's wins over Rafa have been on hard courts, so Rafa will be challenged.

His road to a repeat will not be easy, but it will be fun to watch.

Novak Djokovic

Seeding: 1

Country: Serbia

QF Opponent: Janko Tipsarevic

Head-to-Head Record: 2-0

Odds: 3/1

Novak Djokovic is the world's No. 1 ranked player and No. 1 seed here at the US Open.

He is the favorite to win it all, and he should be. He is having one of the best years anyone has ever had in tennis.

He is 66-2 for the year, 19-1 in clay and 37-1 in hard courts. He also has beaten No.2 Rafael Nadal five times and No. 3 Roger Federer three.

Let's not forget Federer was the one to stop his magical win streak at the French Open. His other loss was a retired against Andy Murray in the final in Cincinnati because of a shoulder injury.

That injury seems to be a thing of the past. He has not shown any lingering effects from it and has been playing like the true No.1 he is.

He has yet to drop a set in the tournament and has fought off challenges by Nikolay Davydenko and very dangerous Alexandr Dolgopolov in the last two rounds.

His first set against Dolgopolov was very shaky, but he kept his poise and survived four sets points against and won the set.

He is improving as the rounds pass by and seems to have that championship swagger on him.

He will face his friend and fellow Serbian Janko Tipsarevic. He is 2-0 against him.

Everyone expects a Djokovic-Federer semifinal. It could happen. Djokovic should beat Tipsarevic, while Federer has a tough pill to swallow in Tsonga.

Right now the way Djokovic is playing, the Open is his tournament to lose.